


Three, Two, One, and None

by leolovesnico



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Chris finds Josh instead of Sam and Mike, Countdown to death, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-28
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2018-04-23 18:22:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4887028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leolovesnico/pseuds/leolovesnico
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where the numbers on your wrist count down to your death, most twenty year old doesn't take much heed. Josh Washington isn't most twenty year olds, but he knew that already.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three, Two, One, and None

It was supposed to burn like hell. When it got close to the end, that is. It felt like a million nasty little fire ants gnawing at your skin, that's what his grandmother had said.

Josh disagreed, it was barely more than an ache. A niggling sore.

He wondered if Hannah and Beth had felt the same thing, before-  _Before._ He tried to banish the thought immediately, yet it persisted. If Beth had felt it, she would never have let them know. She didn't have time for bullshit like that, she just got on with things. Hannah, on the other hand, wore her emotions on her sleeves. She was an open book, everyone knew how she felt, at any time. Just like how everyone knew how she felt about Mike. Hannah could never keep a secret. She would've told them if she knew. She would've wanted to say goodbye.

Josh just kept staring at his wrist, he had just under six hours to go. He hadn't told anyone, he just invited them back up to the mountain. And, well, he had always known that he wanted to go out with a bang.  He knew it wouldn't come from Chris either, the poor guy was so hung up on Ashley, Josh suspected he could wear his as a coat.

In the end, all he wanted was to be remembered, and tonight would make sure of that.

 

 

_It wasn't supposed to happen like this though._

 

He had played his part to perfection, his father would've been so proud. He tried his hardest, but he had missed one fatal detail. He had no idea how he was going to die. Sure, in his head it was going to be something dramatic, and iconic. Not too miserable of course, he didn't wanna bum people out over a little death. Idealistically, he wanted to fall down the mountain, after maybe giving it to Chris in the ass, or perhaps a witty confession with a few 'no homo' jokes.  
What he didn't expect, was being hunted down by wendigos. To be fair though, how the fuck was he supposed to see that coming?

 

And here he was. Where was it?

He didn't know, or care really. He could remember anything clearly.

He gave Chris a gun with blanks.

Sam was in a towel, right? Or was she naked?

He would've remembered that at least.

 Mike lost a leg, he was pretty sure.

Emily, emily... Emily was the blonde girl.

She was dating Mike. Or was it Matt?... or Ashley?

There was a pig. Did he kill the pig? Did he have a pet pig? He grew up on a farm, right?

The pig had a name. Hannah? Chris? Ashley? Mike? It was Mike.

Chris was... holding a gun to him. Yelling. Shit. There was a lot of yelling why was there yelling he needed to stop yelling died. Died? Who died? Jessica? Was that pig? No, the pig was Mike who was Jess who killed Jessica he didn't kill Jessica yelling gun gun fuck gun gun gun gun fucking died. Tied. Tying. They tied him up. FUCK it was tight he need to be able to move around and and and and they were all here he invited all his friends to the mountain and they were gonna sleepover. 

It was a sleepover and he tied to, no, tried to do a prank and he was tied to the thing fuck the thing the pizza sleepover. Pizza?

Sleepovers had pizza. He tried to ask for the pizza a there had to be pizza but more YELLING YELLING YELLING and then alone.

Dark. His wrist was hurting. Burning. Hotter. YELLING. Hotter. Hotter. YELLING. HELP. FUCK. BURNING. Alone.

Burning. Wrist. He couldn't wiggle. What time was it? Did his friends like his joke? It was a hilarious joke. Laughing. Burning. LAUGHING. Friends laughing? Why not? LAUGHING. LAUGHING. Alone. Burning. Dying? Time? DYING? Burning wrist?

NOT ALONE. Hannah? Hannah! Hannah! Not alone! Untied! Pain? PAIN. DARK. DARK. DARK. DARK. DARK. DARK. DARK. DARK.

 

 

And here he was. Alone in the dark. Where was Hannah? Was she still alive? The thought rose from his stomach to his mind, filling him with warmth. "Hannah?" He called, he voice cracking from strain. "Hannah! HAN-NAH!" It was barely a whisper, a collecting of wheeze and groans. It was wet. The were warm salty tears running down his face, like a rainstorm. He couldn't move. His wrist was still burning, but it was too dark to see the numbers. It was soon. So soon. Too soon. He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to leave yet, he hadn't even said goodbye.

Or was he already dead? Was this what death was - an eternal oblivion with only his desperate screams to keep him company? 

He felt around around blindly, hoping oblivion was another few minutes away. There had to be something. A wall? It was wet. A cold wet sticky wall. Josh heaved himself upright, and faced the wall. But it was not a wall. he could see now, the giant fleshy opening he latched himself on to. He felt warm blood pouring out where he fingers he dug into the pink mush. There were noises. Squealing. A pig?

It all happened at once. The monstrous snout of a giant pig's estranged head emerged from the wall, snorting and squealing in shrill deafening tones. It sniffed him out. It'd come for him. He had killed the creature, and it wanted his blood. It wanted revenge. "STOP!" Josh sobbed."I'M SORRY. OKAY? I'M SORRY."

"Josh..." A faint whisper. A body of white. No, two. "Josh..."

"LEAVE ME ALONE." He howled.

"Come with us." The twins pleaded, "Your time is almost up. Come with us."

"I DON'T TAKE ORDERS FROM YOU."

"It's burning isn't it, Josh. You know what that means."

"STOP. LEAVE ME ALONE. I SAID I DON'T-"

"We can be together again," They whispered. "We can be happy."

"W-what?"

They reached out towards him. "Come on, Josh. Everyone's waiting. Chris is-"

"Chris is with you?" His heart snapped in half, falling to the pits of fire in his stomach. "Is h-he... Don't tell me he's de- SHUT UP." He couldn't bear it, not Chris. He would never. "SHUT UP. SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP I DON'T TAKE ORDERS FROM _YOU_."

And then, there was Chris' voice.

"Josh!"

Fast footsteps, running - splashing? 

It wasn't real. Josh knew it couldn't be. He swung his arms around wildly, with all his strength. It couldn't hurt him. Not again.

"Josh, stop. _Stop_. It's me. I swear." Someone grabbed his fists, and forced them to his sides. "It's ok, Josh. It's really me. We're going back to the lodge, they won't hurt you again. Okay, bro?" They said.

There was warmth. Someone was holding him tightly. Hugging him. Chris.

"Are you real?" Josh whimpered into Chris' shoulder.

"Mhm." Chris murmured, holding him tighter. Josh let out a heartbreaking wail, and sobbed into Chris' jacket. He couldn't bring himself to hug him back. His whole arm felt as though it were set alight.

"Chris, I-I have to- my arm. My wrist, it's..." Josh said. 

"We're going back to the lodge, bro. You can get patched up there, it'll be-" Josh struggled out of Chris' embrace, and shook him

"It  _won'_ _t_  be okay, I don't have time, I-"

"You're damn right there's no time, we have to leave now before the wendigos find us. Come on." Chris insisted. He grabbed Josh's burning wrist and dragged him back towards the exit. "I'm sorry, bro. We need to leave."

"That HURTS. Oh god, get the fuck off me." Josh screamed, his voice raw. He wrestled against Chris' fingers curling around his wrist. "It fucking _b_ _urns_ , Chris." He pushed away from his friend, and struggled and wriggled and punched and kicked.

"I know it hurts, asshole. I hurt too. Everywhere. But we need to leave, so shut the fuck up." Chris snapped.

Josh violently broke free, and shrieked in agony. "I need to find my sister, okay?" Chris' face softened, and he reached towards his friend hesitantly, almost like restoring an old painting.

"Josh, your sisters... They died. Remember last year? At the lodge? The pr-"

"I know about the prank." Josh spat. "Hannah's still alive, I saw her. She untied me, from the... the..." he paused, and stared straight at Chris. "You tied me up. Left me for dead."

"Josh..."

"I mean, I always wanted you to tie me up, cochise." Josh cackled, the light leaving his eyes. "I just thought it would've been in a kinky way rather than, uh, you know, fucking abandoning me on a mountain on the night of my death." 

"...What?" Chris shook his head. "You were a danger, to yourself and others. And Hannah's dead, okay? We're leaving. We can talk about... that other part later." He said.

"There won't be a later." Josh smirked. "I told you, I'm running out time. My wrist is burning like a white gu-"

An inhuman screech filled the cave, like blood in the water. Chris looked at Josh urgently. Glaring. Pleading. "We have to leave  _now_." He said.

"Go without me." Josh said simply. "You'll make it if you leave now, I bet. I'm going to find Hannah. She's in here somewhere, bro. I have to find her, she's my sister - I haven't seen her in a year. I want to spend my last moments with her, okay?"

"IT WON'T BE YOUR LAST MOMENTS IF YOU LEAVE N-" Chris began to shout, but he was interrupted by another earth shattering screech. 

"It's my time, bro." Josh said, his voice wobbling. He waved his wrist in Chris' direction."It's been hurting all day, and it's just just getting worse, and worse,and I just- I can't-"

 

Josh began to sob again. Chris' expression changed, he knew what he had to do. Another screech shook the cave, Hannah had arrived. "Ok, Josh. You just- uh- you- Don't move okay?" Chris began to back away slowly. "What were you saying just now, earlier, I mean?"

"I h-have to find my sister..."Josh said, sniffling.

"Before that... You wanted me to tie you up?" Chris felt his back hit the ledge he jumped into the water from.

Josh laughed sardonically. "Fuck... hah... You say the weirdest things when you go off your meds."

"Josh..." Chris said, in an unreadable tone. Hannah was getting closer. He began to climb the ledge.

"Okay, okay so I've been totally into you for the past five years. This hardly seems like the time to discuss that, cochise. I have a sister to find, and a death to die, y'know?"

"R-right." Chris stammered, almost at the cave's entrance. "I'm sure you'll find her bro. We can talk about whatever you w-want for now. Anything you wanna say before you d-die?"

Josh snorted. "Whaddya want, a gay confession? Fine. I want to suck your dick, Chris. Is that what you wanna hear, you pervert?"

Chris edged further and further away. The wendigo was just a foot away from Josh. "If that's what you want to s-"

"Okay fine. Uh. I should've told you sooner, I guess..." He paused, and shook his head. "I know you've been distracting me,bro. Hannah's right behind me, isn't she?"

"...Yeah." Chris said, his voice cracking.

"You'd better starting running, cochise." 

 

Josh waited until he heard the footsteps steps fade away. His arm was giving him hell, at this point, he wanted it torn off. He gathered up all his strength and shouted, "I LOVE Y-" before his sister's razor sharp teeth ripped his neck open, and he fell to the ground. It was dark. Painless.

With his last ebb of vivacity, he heard the numbers inside his head.

Three

 

Two

 

One.

 

None.


End file.
